The Duluth, Minnesota Fire Department had a busy day recently. A lightning strike to a tree traveled underground and attached to a gas line. The lightning strike was large enough to ignite three gas fires in the surrounding neighborhood and kill a family of squirrels in the tree. See the news report at the link below:...

The FAA has recently released a draft version of Advisory Circular 20-136B “Aircraft Electrical and Electronic System Lightning Protection”. This document provides the guidance to show compliance with the FAA lightning regulations 23.1306, 25.1316, 27.1316, and 29.1316. Comments on this draft AC are due by August 26th, 2011. Click the link below to download the document: AC20-136B...

New Zealand is suffering from a recent uptick in lightning strikes. Up to 3,200 lightning strikes per hour have been recorded. One of the victims of these lightning strikes was a Air New Zealand flight which had return to its departure airport after receiving a large strike. See the news report here:...

A recent lightning strike to a tree in Grand Junction, CO blew the bark completely off the bottom of the tree and frightened the nearby residents. Bark was found 60 feet away from the tree. Holy smokes!

A New Zealand Air Force Boeing 757 was struck while flying through a storm that also included hail. The pilot declared an emergency and landed promptly. The video shows the aircraft landing safely while several fire engines are on alert. After disembarking, the pilot discusses the harrowing experience with a local reporter. See the video at http://t.co/Tt2hRGP and the news reports here: http://t.co/7octlPn and here:...